Chinese Farmers Explore the Path of Transformation Between Tradition and Modernity
It is necessary to look from multiple angles in order to better grasp the true image of the farmer group.
China has approximately 270 million rural migrant workers, and these migrant workers all possess an entrepreneurial spirit.
China's farmers are more embedded than urban residents in traditions and culture that are “beyond reason.”
In short, the positive and negative images displayed by modern Chinese farmers are not substantially different from those of other social strata.
(I)
China is still in a stage of government and market transformation. The government is transitioning from administration to governance, and the economic system is transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy. Correspondingly, China's agriculture is transitioning from a smallholder economy to modern agriculture, and China's farmers, like other social occupations, are all in a transition from status to contract.
Among Chinese people, some regard farmers highly, and some regard them lowly. However, the number of those who regard them lowly far exceeds the number of those who regard them highly. China's farmers are generally in a discriminated-against position, and this can be seen from the circumstances of rural migrant workers. First, in the economic aspect, such as poor wages and welfare benefits; second, in the social aspect, for example, in some places the children of rural migrant workers are often not allowed into local ordinary schools and can only attend schools for the children of migrant workers, and there have even been cases of forcibly closing such schools while at the same time not arranging for the children of rural migrant workers to enter local schools. Another example is that some bus conductors may glare coldly at rural migrant workers carrying large bags and bundles; third, in the political aspect, for example, the proportion of farmer representatives among people's congress deputies and CPPCC members is relatively low, and farmers lack their own interest-representation organizations; fourth, in the policy aspect, for example, to date China still has an urban-rural household registration segregation system, although localities are currently introducing residence permit systems.
In fact, it is not easy to accurately see the image characteristics of the farmer group. Just as we view government officials, entrepreneurs, scholars, reporters and editors, and workers, we cannot make sweeping generalizations about the farmer group. As the philosopher Popper said, a person cannot absolutely grasp truth, but can approach truth, and the way to do so is through trial and error. This means that we can only gradually and ever more accurately grasp the image characteristics of the farmer group through trial and error as much as possible. In daily life, when describing a occupational group such as farmers, we often adopt a preconceived and sweeping attitude. It is necessary to look from multiple angles in order to better grasp the true image of the farmer group.
(II)
The occupation of modern Chinese farmer has a certain particularity: it combines many functions in one. To some extent, farmers are both entrepreneurs and managers; both bosses and hired laborers; both technicians and tillers of the soil; both landlords and tenant farmers.
As for farmers' identity as landlords and tenant farmers, Chinese people may easily become confused. According to the Constitution, land is owned by rural collectives. Under such circumstances, how could farmers have become “landlords”? This is because a collective has boundaries and is composed of its member farmers. Although rural land is jointly owned by collective members, after all, every collective member has a share. But how have farmers also become tenant farmers? This is because rural collectively owned farmland is also contracted to farmers according to law, so farmers are equivalent to renting farmland as tenants.
China is a country based on the worker-peasant alliance, and the importance of “workers” is in fact ranked before that of “peasants.” From the founding of New China to the present, China has pursued a catch-up strategy. Although “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” have been emphasized, in reality urban areas and industrialization have been emphasized more. Before reform and opening up, through policy measures such as the people's commune system, household registration control policies, and unified purchase and sale, China long suppressed the returns to agricultural production factors and transferred the agricultural surplus squeezed out in this way to urban areas for use in advancing industrial modernization. After reform and opening up, China basically abolished the people's commune system in 1984 and abolished the unified purchase and sale policy by 1992. The urban-rural household registration segregation policy continued to this day, and only in recent years has there been greater relaxation. Since 1998, governments across China have vigorously pursued land finance, and to date still expropriate large amounts of farmers' land with no compensation or low compensation.
Over the past dozen years or so, government support for “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” has been unprecedented. The fact that the themes of twelve consecutive No. 1 Central Documents were all focused on “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” also illustrates this point. But the government's actual policies still tilt toward cities. For example, the urban-rural household registration segregation policy has after all not been completely removed, and the compensation standards for land expropriation still need to be raised, as compensation is not yet fully implemented on the basis of fair market transaction prices.
Contemporary Chinese entrepreneurs naturally feel repulsion toward the hierarchy of “scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants” followed in traditional China. After all, “merchants” ranked last in this hierarchical order, which is vastly different from modern people's ideas. In modern times, the status of entrepreneurs has been elevated as never before. One major achievement of reform and opening up is the reappearance of the entrepreneurial class. It is an indisputable fact that many people want to become entrepreneurs and take pride in becoming entrepreneurs. The economist Schumpeter even said that in the economic and social pyramid, entrepreneurs should occupy the top position.
Many Chinese people believe that farmers are old-fashioned, conservative, short-sighted, and lacking in enterprise. This does not accord with our close observations of the farmer group. It is generally difficult for us to link farmers and entrepreneurs as two groups, but China's situation is this: farmers and entrepreneurs have an enormous overlap. China has approximately 270 million rural migrant workers, and these migrant workers all possess an entrepreneurial spirit and are willing to take risks by leaving their hometowns to work and make a living. Behind so many rural migrant workers, there are large numbers of left-behind elderly people, women, or children supporting them. In the late 1980s, a large number of township and village enterprises appeared in China and became half of the economy. Among the founders and operators of these township and village enterprises, many were farmer entrepreneurs, such as Liu Yonghao of the Hope Group, Lu Guanqiu of Wanxiang Group, and Wu Renbao of Huaxi Group.